NEWS WATCH

NEWS WATCH; A Tax Program Can at Least Save Space on Your Hard Drive

By J. D. BIERSDORFER

Published: February 1, 2001

The thumping sounds of W-2 forms and other documents stamped with ''Important Tax Information Enclosed'' landing in the mailbox serve as a nagging reminder that the annual Great Procrastination Before the April 15 Tax Deadline has begun.

This year, there is a new way for Windows users to fill out their returns: Quicken's TurboTax software is now available on an Iomega Zip disk, in a form that allows the user to configure and run the software directly from the computer's Zip drive without having to set up and install the program on the machine's hard drive.

Not installing the program saves space on the hard drive and avoids potential software conflicts or Windows configuration issues that new software can sometimes introduce.

Tax-return forms can be saved directly onto the same Zip disk, making the disk a portable archive of one's I.R.S. adventures. The price for the tax program, which comes with an additional 100-megabyte Zip disk, is $29.95. J. D. BIERSDORFER